Favorite Teams

Alabama

The Carnival cruise ship Triumph rests against a dock on the east side of the Mobile River Wednesday April 3, 2013. The ship broke its moorings Wednesday at BAE Shipyard. (Bill Starling/bstarling@al.com)

MOBILE, Alabama – A federal agency that regulates the health
and safety of workers and workplace environments is investigating the fatal
incident Wednesday at BAE Systems that resulted in the presumed death of one of
its employees.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a
division of the U.S. Department of Labor, has opened an investigation into the
circumstances surrounding the incident that included the Carnival Triumph
breaking from its moorings and being set adrift in the Mobile River for several
hours.

"OSHA has opened an investigation into the fatal incident,"
spokesman Mike D'Aquino said today. "We don't have any details regarding the
events."

He said OSHA has up to six months from the beginning of its
investigation to issue its findings and determine whether any workplace
standards were violated. OSHA does not issue preliminary or interim reports, D'Aquino
said, and will be unable to comment until a final report is issued.

Erin Mosley, president of BAE Systems, in a statement earlier
today, said Johnson and another employee were on a pier at the time that was
hit by the Carnival Triumph cruise ship after it broke loose from its moorings.
The vessel collided with the pier, Mosley said, resulting in the two employees
falling into the water.

Coast Guard, Mobile Police and the Sheriff's Office
conducted a search for approximately 15 hours with more than 15 boats and
aircraft in an effort locate Johnson.

The other employee, who the company has not identified, was rescued
by authorities. He was taken to a nearby hospital and was treated for a mild
case of hypothermia.

The Carnival Triumph remains docked at the Alabama Cruise Terminal "for the near term" despite the Coast Guard's earlier reports that it is was being towed to BAE Systems for repairs. The Triumph has been in Mobile since Feb. 14, when it arrived into the cruise terminal after being stranded in the Gulf
of Mexico following a fire in one of its engines. More than 4,000 people were
on the Triumph at the time it arrived, escorted by tugboats, to the city-owned terminal.

This story was updated at 3:34 p.m. with an update from BAE Systems on the location of the Carnival Triumph.